Modern computing systems are capable of quickly and efficiently presenting information. This capability is particularly evident and advantageous when used to present graphical representations of data. Such graphical representations may consist of visualizations such as bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, etc.
A user may wish to select elements displayed within a visualization or any other type of graphics display. To select an element, the user may move a cursor onto the element by using a mouse, and then press a mouse button while the cursor is positioned on the element. Multiple elements may be selected by depressing the SHIFT or CTRL keys during this operation. In some applications, a user depresses a mouse button while a cursor is at a particular location and, without releasing the button, drags the cursor to define a rectangle. When the button is released, all elements within the rectangle are selected. These selection techniques may also be applied to touch-sensitive displays, with finger touches replacing the mouse movement and button presses.
The foregoing techniques are not efficient, suitable or intuitive in some usage scenarios. Other graphical selection systems are desired.